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Dell XPS M1530 Review

Posted on April 6, 2008April 6, 2008 By sweet surrender 31 Comments on Dell XPS M1530 Review

Finally bought a new laptop!! It’s a Dell XPS M1530 for RM4199 at Pikom yesterday. My budget is around RM3000-4000. I narrowed it down to Toshiba, Sony and Dell and at the end Dell has better price with such kind of specifications. Besides, checked it online and only lower specifications available, it’s already RM4299. Therefore it’s really a deal.

Got free upgrade of RAM from 1GB to 2GB, a carry case, bluetooth and insurance for one year that worths more than RM400 for the laptop in case your laptop is stolen, burnt, flood or burglar carted it away for your house. Online offer only gives free optical mouse.

Performance wise, I haven’t check *LOL* For now it’s still new and clean, of course it’s fast and perform well except Vista that I hate! *LOL* From the Internet, the comments about the performance aren’t that bad. What kind of review is this?!?!? I’m concentrating more on the non-technical parts. At least I know it won’t be as slow and as lag as the one I’m using now.

Specifications(This is not full specifications, just some major ones):
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T8100(2.1Hhz/3MB/800Mhz)
2GB DDR-2 SDRAM(after upgrade)
15.4” WXGA Display with TrueLife™
250GB SATA Hard Drive
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web cam(below left)
DVD Super Multi Dual Layer Drive(below right)

256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
HDMI-out
Card reader(SD/MMC/Memorystick, just to name a few, I lazy to check the manual hahaha…)

Biometric FingerPrint Reader

MediaDirect one-touch-access

1-Year licensed Anti-Virus, McAfee
MS Works 9.0
Windows Vista® Home Premium
1-Year limited warranty
CREATIVE earphones
CD organizer
Weight: Starting at 5.78 lbs6 (2.62 kg)
Width: 14.06″ (357 mm)
Height: 0.93″ – 1.38″ (23.7 mm – 35.1 mm wedge)
Depth: 10.34″ (263 mm)

Pro:
Lighter than what I’m having now.
Better sound system than what I’m having now.
Better graphic card than what I’m having now.
Nicer design.
Bigger than what I’m having now.
Better performance than what I’m having now.
Huge screen.

Cons:
You need to hold the base down when opening the lid, as it’s light, the whole laptop would move or flip.
Power cord pulls out very easily.
Power cord very short. This is one reason why I didn’t consider Dell at the first place.
Vista suckssssssssssss! That’s why it took me ages to find a new laptop as new laptops now all come with Vista.
Quite bulky.
I don’t like built-in webcam.
Battery life is only 3 hours.
Fingerprints everywhere!! However, easily cleaned with the cloth provided.
The lid closes very LOUDLY when you are not gentle, there’s no way you can close it like normal laptop. You have to hold it and gently close it, if you didn’t pay attention and let go of your hand when it’s almost closed, it will SLAM down by itself! Imagine opening a book and then close it when you are angry. It will give you a loud “PAP!!!” Almost got heart attack for this.
(Told you I’m jinxed! Contacted Dell’s customer support already, waiting for their reply)

Need to get used to:
Vista… Sigh…
Don’t like the keyboard, just need to get used to it, no umph when typing 😛
The touchpad, need to get used to it too.
The screen has huge glare, the major problem with all glossy screens.
Slot load drive instead of the traditional press and eject.

Funny fact:
Wrong sticker!! Hahaha… It should be Intel Core 2 Duo but it has Centrino sticker on it *LOL*

It’s strange that I can’t find proper reviews on the Internet search except from Dell’s site itself. Maybe it’s still too new.


Left: (bottom to top) Free carry case, CD organizer, the case provided.
Right: The cables and the box, even the box design is so cool!


Left: The earphones provided.
Right: Even the the user manual looks like a nice notebook.

Anyway, I need to wait for Dell Support to contact me about the lid problem. Told you I’m jinxed!! Sigh… I bought 3 laptops(Toshiba, NEC, now Dell) and all sure to have problems! Will tell you about this in other post hahaha…

Review It!, Tech Stuffs

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Comments (31) on “Dell XPS M1530 Review”

  1. ahlost says:
    April 6, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    Wow.. Nice laptop you’ve got there.. I wanna get an iPod Touch @.@

  2. lee says:
    April 6, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    WAH…you brought such an expensive laptop already. Let me know how’s the performance after 3 months ok, i’m not confidence about DELL laptop, usually what the most people own are compaq, HP or acer niah……

    so how about your next DSLR ??

  3. elvawenn says:
    April 6, 2008 at 3:24 pm

    OK, I didn’t see what’s wrong with the laptop till you have to contact Dell Support. Is it the closing thing? The “pap” sound? If so, well… you just wasted your time writing… cos it’s supposed to be like that. Mine is also like that… new design, I suppose. Yup, I agree it’s not great. I took some time to get used to it also and you definitely don’t close your laptop when angry, yeah? 😀

    As for Vista… I agree with you 110%. Now, I have changed it to XP, but XP is kinda wonky on new systems. I have no idea why, but my system is now laden with problems like drivers not installing properly, itty bitty stuffs popping up to annoy me, etc. So, bo pien, have to change back to Vista. Welcome to the empire of Microsoft, where you do as they say and nothing more. 😀 Sucks, I know.

    Vista will only be slow when you turn on the Aero theme or something like that. Turn it off, set the graphic settings to classic. You should see immediate effect. Aero is a memory hogger.

    Other than that… wow… your laptop is way better than mine. Other things you complain about like keys, touchpad, etc. It all needs getting used to. But at the end, I’m pretty happy with mine and it’s even more lower end than yours. 😀

  4. sweet surrender says:
    April 6, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    ahlost, hehehe… go get one 😛

    Lee, need to take time to test.

    Ann, I think that’s it lo… It’s the new design which sucks haha… I did check out the rest just now at the fair, they are smaller in size so the impact not that great, mine is bigger and heavier, so the impact is huge *LOL* Vista sucks. Bopien lo… As for performance thing with the Aero theme that you said, hehehe… I don’t use things like that so it won’t be much problem. I even close the sidebars and all those fancy fancy features. However, there’s another problem, the cover at the hinges there isn’t solid, as if very flimsy and got some gaps here and there, not sure other is like tat or not. Forgot to check at the fair just now. So will contact Dell about it also *LOL*

  5. AhPauL says:
    April 6, 2008 at 10:54 pm

    wah… so cool lar… ^^

  6. elvawenn says:
    April 6, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    Hmm… you might not like the next thing I say. 😀 I told Jee about it and he said Vista isn’t great for developers like what you’re doing now. Not sure what he’s on about. Maybe it’s the compatibility issue. On the upside, you can always change to XP. Just make sure you have all the compatible drivers ready.

    Also, I have not seen the XPS series in person so I don’t really know what you’re saying about the hinge. It’s worth going back and ask about it though.

  7. sweet surrender says:
    April 7, 2008 at 1:12 am

    elvawenn, yea… that’s why it took me qiute sometimes to look for a new laptop with all those stupid vista. Well… Since I don’t do programming, I just do some designs on Photoshop and photo editing and some simple flash animation, it won’t be much of a problem, I’m not going to make it a server or whatever also, just normal use, even if it’s doing programming, I only need notepad and Dreamweaver that’s all. Nothing large scale on developer things hahaha… Now I can learn Illustrator which my current computer has problem supporting it, it will hang like crazy hahaha…

  8. wuching says:
    April 7, 2008 at 8:00 am

    I so jeles u liao

  9. allen says:
    April 7, 2008 at 8:05 am

    They have stopped shipping XP drivers already, that’s why when you install XP on a new machines, you might have the driver compatibility problem. Bo pien. We’re forced into accepting Vista lor.

  10. Jeo says:
    April 7, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Memang Wu Lui……LOL

  11. sweet surrender says:
    April 7, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    wuching, u also got a new laptop previously hehehe… A Dell too hahaha…

    allen, yealo… bopien, remember the thing u heard from the fair the other? The one you said the ah pek insisted on XP *LOL*

    Jeo, not wu liu la hahaha… I save this money for so long already liao.

  12. allen says:
    April 7, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    LOL.. tat stubborn ah pek.. LOL
    eh… come come .. lai.. play dota..

  13. lee says:
    April 7, 2008 at 4:41 pm

    eh….elvawenn, i dont know is you ann !!!, well, my notebook not just “pap” sound but a “pop” sound….so just ignore it and pretend no such problem happen coz one day it will no more “pap” sound where your cover totally pull off from it part. ha ha ha…..

    from my opinion…..window xp still can use for many many many years……

  14. lee says:
    April 7, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    oh…forgot to let know that i’m still using license window 98 and i just upgrade a litter bit of RAM will be nice and simple.

  15. lee says:
    April 7, 2008 at 4:52 pm

    and one more….base on my usage need, for the next 10 years dont need to change a new system…..hai……we all target more on “longing” rather than “needs”

    ann ! where i can buy the device that save our home current usage ????

  16. windwalker says:
    April 7, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    Nice one…You sure the sticker is wrong? It’s not Centrino meh?

  17. Robin says:
    April 7, 2008 at 5:50 pm

    Ooohhh new laptop…

    One thing i need to mention here, a lot of people have been innocently tricked by the world of marketing and their catchphrases, one of them being centrino.

    There is nothing wrong with the centrino sticker, for a laptop to be certified an intel centrino machine, the laptop must be constructed with minimum three of the intel manufactured products.

    Centrino has NOTHING to do with your processor, and your intel core 2 duo is just one part of the requirements for a centrino certification. hah, there u go.

    That aside, I do think that rm4100 is quite a good price to pay for that machine of yours. Considering the specifications, it can handle almost anything thrown onto it today. U can find similar machine on HP or Toshiba at more than RM5000. I am not kidding, I did my homework.

    Vista? Get used to it. It will replace XP eventually. A lot of people complained about XP during its release, comparing it to the then-superior windows 98. Everyone said XP was laggy, XP was unstable, XP was problematic, XP this bad, XP that bad….

    But after all these years… who is using windows 98 anymore?

    Same thing will happen for Vista.

    Anyway, I would say ur purchase of that XPS machine is a wise one. I am sure it wont disappoint you

  18. sweet surrender says:
    April 7, 2008 at 6:34 pm

    windwalker, hehehe… It’s Centrino, it’s correct, it’s not wrong, it’s just funny. From their website, they are displaying the Core™2 Duo icon, so automatically will assume that the sticker should be following what it’s displayed in the website hahaha… Actually this is noticed by one of the reviewers in Dell’s website hahaha… Else I won’t notice also. It doesn’t matter also hehehe… What matter the most is the actual thing in there.

    Robin, indeed, this specs will cost more than 5000 for other brands, thats’ why I ended with Dell. Hahaha… As for the Centrino sticker thing hehehe… Refer to my reply to windwalker.

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  20. jam says:
    April 8, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    What happens to the old one? Care to donate to me?

  21. sweet surrender says:
    April 8, 2008 at 6:33 pm

    Jan, hehehe… the old one I’m still using, I’ll be using two laptops in one go hahahaha… The old one will be for something lighter in processing and the new one will be used for heavier processing and learn illustrator hehehe..

  22. beverly's secret says:
    April 9, 2008 at 1:14 pm

    I wanna get a lappie soon~~
    thx for your useful tips!!

  23. sweet surrender says:
    April 10, 2008 at 12:32 am

    Beverly, WAH… Want to get new laptop.

  24. ember says:
    April 10, 2008 at 12:38 am

    Congrats! LOL. That is one sleek laptop, serious stuff under its hood too! =D

    I have been using vista for close to 6 months already and apart from not being able to print stuff over my wireless network, everything else works smoothly for me. So don’t worry about vista lor.

    By the way, that Centrino sticker isn’t wrong. =P

  25. sweet surrender says:
    April 10, 2008 at 10:03 am

    ember, hehehe… I know it’s not wrong, it’s correct, do refer back to the previous comment I left for windwalker.

  26. Jayce says:
    April 11, 2008 at 10:44 am

    XPS series should be nice. 😉

  27. sweet surrender says:
    April 11, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Jayce, hope so hahaha… My bro used it to play online game now, Dota. 😛

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